Saturday, July 19, 2014

Large family joys

Having a large family definitely comes with its set of challenges, not the least of which is having lots of different personalities trying to live together in harmony for the most part. There just are so many possible combinations of family members to interact with one another that conflict cannot be avoided all the time.

Yet, by the same token, seeing our children being sweet and loving with their siblings is one of the greatest joys for this mama.

This big guy has been with us almost since the very beginning. Truly, children of the youth are as arrows in the hands of a mighty man. My husband and I were both just young pups ourselves when we had this guy, so he's been there for most of the growing and learning we have done as adults and as parents up to this point. I'm thankful he is an especially loving and forgiving soul! :)

Isaac loves helping with his younger siblings in the service. Little Boaz is clearly enjoying it :) Anna in particular adores him, and always wants to have him be her "buddy" when we are out in public and the kids are paired up. Isaac is also my go-to guy for helping with getting the youngest ones ready for bed and all tucked in. He can brush their teeth, bathe them, and wash their hair like a pro!

John is another doting big brother. Little Boaz is very popular around here :) His favorite thing is to bring younger siblings along on his animal chores, and to play Legos and Playmobil with them.

Relaxing on Miriam's shoulder while waiting to get our tire fixed. She's basically a "mini me" with the babies.

Becky is only allowed to hold Boaz while she is sitting down, so she usually mothers Stephen and Anna. Here, she is pretending "house" with them and her dolls, tucking them in for a nap.

Look at the difference in size 22 months make! Stephen is still super excited about his baby brother, and dotes on him daily with kisses, hugs, pats, and occasionally trying to sneak him food.

I am thankful that for the most part, our kids get along with each other wonderfully, and treasure their siblings. I truly believe that there are two keys to their close relationships: For one, the fact that rather than being separated from each other all day in different grades at school, they are around each other all day, every day. And secondly, the fact that we view children as God's greatest earthly blessings has been impressed on each of them as the years are going on, and the family keeps growing. Somehow, they seem to have caught on to the notion! :)

9 comments:

Hi!I've never commented on your blog before, but I have been reading and enjoying it for the last couple years. :) I just wanted to mention something I noticed with Boaz in your current post: I noticed in the picture with Isaac and with Stephen, Boaz's left eye was reflecting white with the camera flash (normally human eyes reflect red with the flash). I would encourage you to notice if this happens consistently, and if it does, to take the baby to a pediatric opthamologist. Sometimes the white eye reflex *can* (but not always) signal a problem. This happened with the baby of a friend of mine, which is why I wanted to mention it to you.

Thank you for bringing my attention to that. I had never heard of that before, but of course immediately consulted Dr. Google about it. Wow - I had no idea!! So thank you!!

As soon as Boaz woke up, I took all sorts of pictures of him in dim lighting, so as to get the flash to go off. I used my phone camera, which is what I had used in the above shot, so as to compare apples with apples. All the photos came back with red retinas, so I am guessing it must have been the sideways angle in the above shot. I read online that it could be caused by the angle of the photo. In any case, I am definitely looking for this in future photos, and will take him to see a specialist if it keeps happening.

Lovely photos as always, but I must enquire about Boaz's car seat. I am not ruling out the angle of the photo or the fact that it is already unbuckled, but the release button on the harness point looks to be quite badly damaged or even shattered, and just wanted to make sure, from a safety perspective that this is not the case. A damaged car seat may not restrain a child properly, and if the release button is indeed damaged, it may be more likely to let go if there were an impact. (God willing that there is not.)

I hope this is taken in the spirit intended and not as jumping down your throat.

Thank you for your concern. The photo quality is not very good, because I snapped the photo on my camera. The chest clip is buckled, but the rest of the harness is not because it was just sitting in the stroller. No part of it is damaged or broken, though maybe what you are seeing is the red rubbery part inside the buckle starting to chip away in places. We have only used this car seat for Stephen and now Boaz, so it has not seen an awful lot of use. I'm guessing the heat (from when the car seat is left in a hot car parked in a parking lot while we shop, etc.) is doing a number on the rubber. The dark spot on the red looks like a piece of food, presumably from Stephen dropping it onto Boaz.

Thank you for clarifying and understanding that my comment was not in malice. I had honestly doubted that the buckle was damaged but would not have been able to forgive myself if I'd let it pass and the smallest chance had happened and Boaz had been injured. I appreciate your understanding and grace in your response.

They are lovely photos and the bond between your children is wonderful to see :)

Can I just say that last week in the middle of the night, the white eye flash thing happened to me... I noticed it on a photo of my 3 year old, (he's also been complaining of eye pain) couldn't sleep all night googling worst case scenarios, wanted to wake him up so I could check and spent all day taking photos of him in dim light. I must have 100 photos on my phone of my son looking up, looking down, looking sideways, flash on, auto flash, left angle, right angle. Talk about stress. In the end, took him to the doctor. Just thought I'd share this snippet of information. Wow, Boaz looks exactly like Steven.

I don't think it's anything to worry about if the white eye shows in a picture that was taken from a cell phone. I think that's just an angle/pic issue. Like I said above, retinoblastoma is not supposed to show up from a cell phone pic. But I'm not a doctor, so don't take what I said as gospel.

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Solomon (17)

Typical firstborn. Very intelligent and logical. Loves to talk. Likes for things to be "right" and organized. Very honest and fair. Exceptional musical talent. Great helper with younger siblings. Very kind and loving.

Isaac (16)

Loves anything to do with being outdoors: riding bikes, hiking, camping, caring for animals, exploring, horseback riding, etc. Very reliable and polite. My "Mr. Fix-It" man. Never ever complains. Tough, but has a very tender heart. Devours books at incredible speed.

John (14)

Our quirky child. Funny and artistic. Precocious and empathetic. Loving older brother to his younger siblings. A bit of daredevil.

Miriam (12)

Beautiful and sweet. Kind and mothering with her younger siblings. Loves being by my side 24/7. My big helper. Has a great sense of style.

Rebecca (10)

Full of energy. Smart and mischievous in a very loveable way. Very tidy. Loves to help with anything she can. Dotes on her younger siblings. Daddy's girl, bookworm.

Anna (8)

Sweet girly girl. Loves pretend playing with her siblings and her dollies. Wants to be a big girl like her sisters. Tenderhearted.

Stephen (6)

Full of energy. Loves to climb onto anything. Wild and rambunctious. All boy, and always happy. A smaller version of his dad, with whom he shares his name and birthday.

Boaz (4)

This little guy is an extra special blessing after a complicated twin pregnancy. Mellow and easy-going. Chatterbox. Smart cookie with a heart of gold.

Chloe (2)

A precious little doll that brightens all of our lives. Smiles, coos, gives kisses, and brings joy every day.

Peter (1)

The newest addition to our family. A sweet little guy that brings us much joy.